Please keep in mind that since this is based on my own personal experiences and opinions, not everything may be completely accurate. Some people use terms to mean different things; everyone has their own way of rating doujinshi. So please remember that the terms, conditions, etc. listed here are only accurate as far as I am concerned; these assumptions are not universal by any means.
The following terms are commonly used in describing doujinshi (please keep in mind that the definitions given here are my own and are by no means purported to be completely accurate)
Legend/FAQ: How Rydia Rose Rates Doujinshi
The following subjects are explain my own personal rating system for doujinshi, as well as information I provide about doujinshi. Please remember that the following are my own personal opinions, and I in no way claim that these are accurate depictions of how others may or may not classify doujinshi.
Title | Series | Characters | Circle | Size | Pages
Published | Category | Quality | Condition | Synopsis | Extra Comments
Title
Self-explanatory! This is the title. Sometimes doujinshi titles are in English, but more often they are in Japanese - usually kanji, of which I am completely clueless. I can sometimes muddle my way through katakana or hiragana if necessary, but no kanji. So, if the title is Kanji-based, I probably won't be able to translate it (or even get the romanji for it), thus for many doujinshi I may end up placing a simple question mark in this space.
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Series
This tells what series the doujinshi is based on; I use the term ‘series’ as a catch all for all games, anime, etc. For example, an FF4 doujinshi would be from the series “Final Fantasy 4,” and so on and so forth.
While most doujinshi focus on a single series, some are crossovers, or contain more than one series. The doujinshi "FF Love," for example, is a crossover between FF4, FF5, and FF6. Thus, in this space I would say: “Crossover between Final Fantasy 4, 5, and 6.” If the dj were one that contained separate stories from all three series that did not crossover, however, I would say, “A mixed doujinshi containing stories from Final Fantasy 4, 5, and 6.” Simple enough, although I’m sure I explained it very badly! ^_^
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Characters
Although some djs focus on all characters of a particular series, most focus on just a few characters; sometimes, a doujin will focus on a single character. These doujinshi are often labeled on the cover as “Rydia Only,” “Sephiroth Only,” “[Insert Character’s Name Here] Only,” etc. This is also done with couples; for example, a doujinshi might be labeled “Rydia and Edge Only,” meaning that it covers their relationship.
If a doujinshi overtly favors one, two, or a small handful of characters, I will put these characters first and next to their names add a “(main),” so that you know that they are the main focus of the dj. If, however, a dj contains all characters in a somewhat equal and unbiased manner, I will say “All” and then, if necessary, specify which characters seem to appear the most, if any. Sometimes, I will use the term “Other” to refer to appearances by other characters that only last a few pages or are not very important (or whom I can’t identify >_<).
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Circle
Artist or group of artists that publishes the doujinshi
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Sizes
- A5 (small size) usually measures about 6 x 8 inches
- B5 (normal size) usually measures about 7 x 10 inches
- A4 (big size) usually measures about 10 x 12 inches
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Pages
The number of pages in a doujinshi. When purchasing a doujinshi, especially if you can’t read Japanese, this is very important, as fewer pages means less story to enjoy! Although, this rating should definitely be combined with the size rating; fewer large pages can sometimes be a better choice than more smaller pages. Then again, sometimes the page count really doesn’t matter. If you have any questions about this, please contact me.
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Published
The date a doujinshi was published. Some djs contain this date in a very prominent place, others do not; since my knowledge of the Japanese language is very tiny, I may not be able to find the date if it is embedded within a load of Japanese text (although, yes, I can read Japanese dates!) If available, I will put up the date; otherwise I will fill this space with an N/A or a question mark. The date is usually found inside the back cover, on the last page (or one of the last few pages).
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Category
This is my own personal system, and is by no means universal; many people/groups have their own criteria or standards by which they judge a doujinshi’s category. Please note that many of these categories are subjective; for example, my definition of ‘mature’ content is rather vague, and the distinctions between soft, medium, and hard hentai are not necessarily clear cut, although I have a good idea of what I would place in each category. I may use some ratings in conjunction with others to create a more detailed portrait of a doujinshi’s content.
My categories include:
- Normal: Any shonen or shoujo doujinshi that does not deal with ‘mature’ themes or contain hentai, yuri, or yaoi, and does not focus on romance. Usually combined with other ratings
- Romance: A doujinshi that focuses mainly on the romantic relationship between a het couple
- Mature: A doujinshi that contains mature themes (may be combined with other ratings)
- Humor: A doujinshi that focuses mainly on humor or parody
- Gag Humor: A doujinshi that focuses on a ‘gag’ style of humor (absurd, silly stuff)
- Serious: A doujinshi with serious subject matter; often mature, but not necessarily
- Shonen Ai: A doujinshi focusing mainly on the romantic relationship between two men
- Shoujo Ai: A doujinshi focusing mainly on the romantic relationship between two women
- Yaoi: A doujinshi depicting a mature, often explicit relationship between two men (sometimes combined with other ratings if not the major theme of a doujinshi; can be soft, medium, or hard)
- Yuri: A doujinshi depicting a mature, often explicit relationship between two women (sometimes combined with other ratings if not the major theme of a doujinshi; can be soft, medium, or hard)
- Soft Hentai: A doujinshi where a couple have sex; the least graphic form of hentai, a woman’s breasts can be shown as well as both genders’ buttocks and general nakedness and suggestive placement of bodies, but the genitalia of neither gender are explicitly shown. This also applies to Yaoi and Yuri
- Medium Hentai: Harder than soft hentai, but softer than hard hentai; some genitalia may be visible, but not in an overly explicit manner; genitalia is often ‘suggested’ rather than shown explicitly (it’s hard to explain, but you’ll know it when you see it) Also applies to Yaoi and Yuri
- Hard Hentai: The most explicit form of hentai. Anything goes; genitalia are present and graphically depicted, although sometimes there is a small form of ‘censorship’ which does not hide much. Also applies to Yaoi and Yuri
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Quality
I also have my own system for judging the quality of the content of a doujinshi. Basically, on a scale of one to five, it goes like this:
5 – EXCELLENT: Awesomely Awesome; near perfect. Best of the best. Etc.
4 – Great: Not quite excellent, but pretty damn close
3 – Very Good: Somewhat Mediocre; Not great, but it’s definitely worth your time
2 – Good: Take it or leave it. It’s ok, but nothing special
1 – Poor: Ugh. Not good/horrible. Not even worth your time looking at the cover
The qualities that I may judge for this include:
Art: If you can’t read Japanese, the art in a doujinshi is very important. If the art is bad, you can’t understand what’s going on! Likewise, excellent art has created some of the most memorable doujinshi experiences that I’ve had—moments where I’ve just stared at a page that’s so breathtaking I just can’t bare to turn it. And that sort of thing.
Story: Sometimes I have no idea what’s going on. Sometimes I know exactly what’s going on, even if I can’t understand what they’re saying. This rating includes not just the ease of understanding the story (if I can get the general gist of it, that’s good enough for me), but also the depth of the story and character development. This rating will be especially high for a complex, intriguing story, or a story that sucks me in emotionally and is so beautiful that it leaves me in tears. I won’t, however, penalize humor dj’s or ones with many short stories; judgement is relative to the particular genre.
Other: There may be some other qualities not mentioned here that are relevant to a particular doujinshi; if so, I’ll be sure to mention it.
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Condition
Here’s how I judge the condition of my doujinshi:
A+: Perfect!
A/-: Almost perfect; slight or barely noticeable use
B/+/-: Some purely cosmetic damage, usually on the cover; the inside is in perfect or near perfect condition
C/+/-: Some visible wear, including possibly very light scarring or scratches; the cover and/or inside are in mediocre condition, not great but not terrible, either
D/+/-: Some soiling, scarring, etc; damage is worse than a “C” grade, but doujinshi is in readable condition
F/+/-: Horrible condition; missing a cover or pages; possibly rips, tears, heavy soiling or scarring; may be readable or unreadable; significant damage
Please take the ratings with a grain of salt; sometimes the technical rating is really not the best judge of the doujinshi. For example, I have a doujinshi that’s missing the back cover, which would result in an “F”; however, the rest of the doujinshi is in near perfect condition; thus, I would give the doujinshi a final grade of F+, and explain the situation further. I will often explain in greater detail the exact circumstances of a particular dj’s condition, and what exactly the problems are, if any.
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Synopsis
In the synopsis section, I will explain the content of the doujinshi as thoroughly as I can, without being too thorough or giving away any spoilers (although you can always email me if you really have to know what happens, and don’t mind having the plot ruined for you! ^_~). If there are multiple stories, or pages with illustrations, or whatever, I’ll try to include it all, first with a paragraph giving an overview of the contents, and then further paragraphs going into more detail—although, for shorter stories and one-page deals, as well as illustrations, etc, I won’t go into to great detail; most likely I’ll stick with just a few mentions (although if there’s something absolutely spectacular, I’ll be sure to point it out!)
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Extra Comments
I use this space to point out any extra comments; for example, I will expand upon my own opinion of the doujinshi, stating whether or not I like it, and why I feel this way. And if I can remember where or from whom I got it, I'll be sure to let you know! Also, I might mention whether or not I will (or want to) scan that particular doujinshi for your viewing pleasure! Also, if I receive comments based on a particular doujinshi, I may include that in this part, as well.
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That's it for the Legend/Glossary/FAQ so far. I hope this clarified things for you about how I rate doujinshi! If you're confused or unsure about something, or have any questions or comments at all, then please don't hesitate to email me with your concerns! ^_^
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